Knowledge and Skills Statement
Have students write their objectives or research questions and use them to identify information that is closely connected to those objectives or questions. Then, task students with locating sources for their research. Sources can be found in the classroom library, campus library, on the Internet, or by interviewing experts on the topic. Then, have students compare information from various sources for consistency and usefulness in their research.
Further Explanation
Students should be able to gather information to support the planning of their work. They should have a clear understanding of their objectives when searching for information in source material and be able to determine when information is not relevant to their specific objectives.
Research
Hongisto, H., & Sormunen, E. (2010). The challenges of the first research paper: Observing students and the teacher in the secondary school classroom. In Practicing Information Literacy: Bringing Theories of Learning, Practice, and Information Literacy Together. Lloyd and Talja (Eds.). Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/3141754
Summary: Hongisto and Sormunen base their work on Kuhthau, who defines information literacy as students' ability to locate, evaluate, and use information. The research uses a cross-disciplinary approach to examining how students develop information literacy skills through teacher-generated assignments. Students use inquiry-based learning (learning by doing) as an approach to gather information from a variety of sources when they are assigned a research paper.